Human
by Always a Bookworm
Summary: It certainly wasn't what Yuugi expected to discover that summer on the sea; but the friendship he developed with that unreal, magical creature was more than he could have hoped for. Spearshipping YuugixRyouta, for contest.


Hello, my lovelies! :) Here I am again (yes, by now you're all probably quite sick of me! :P) with the entry for Round 13 of the YGO Fanfiction Contest: **Spearshipping (Yuugi Motou x Ryouta Kajiki)**. It was a brilliant pairing to write, and I had so much fun with this. Hope that comes across with the story... I was quite rushed, but then I'm finding it harder and harder to find time to write this days! :/ School, I am discovering, is not fun at this age! xD

Pairings: Spearshipping, Heartshipping

Warning(s): AU, Fantasy, some swearing, and a surprising amount of environmentalism. Which just randomly wrote itself in at the last minute! :P Also, use of Ancient Greek. (Explained at the end! ;D)

A/N: 'Hayashi Hotels' is completely made up, but Ichikawa is actually a real town in Hyoga, Japan. Also, the italics have gone screwy- so I'm not sure if that's messed with the formatting of the piece or not. :/

Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

"Hello, Yuugi Motou speaking?"

"Yes, hello; my name is Ms. Ikeda, from Hayashi Hotels. You applied at our Ichikawa Branch for a summer job, did you not Mr Motou?"

"Yes, yes I-"

"I'm sorry to inform you that the post has already been filled."

"Oh... Well, thank you for calling-"

"But we can offer you a position in one of our other branches, if you are interested Mr Motou?"

"Another branch? Where exactly?"

"Domino City, on the coast."

"That's quite far-"

"Well, we would of course offer you lodging during your time with us- can I assume that you will be taking the post?"

"I-"

"Very good. Further information on the conditions of your employment will be sent to you shortly, Mr Motou. Good day."

"... Ms. Ikeda? Hello? Oh... well, thank you. I suppose."

"... Ms. Ikeda? Hello? Oh... well, thank you. I suppose."

* * *

It was the beginning of August when Yuugi arrived in Domino. Yuugi, used to the almost unbearable summer heat in the cities where he had grown up, was pleasantly surprised to find a cool sea-breeze gusting through the streets lined with holidaying families and excited tourists snapping photos at every opportunity. Yuugi clutched a map in his hand nervously, determined not to be late on his first day- he really wanted to make a good impression, especially since (judging by the brusque attitude of the receptionist who had hired him) Hayashi Hotels did not appreciate time wasters.

He had already visited the small apartment that had been allocated to him for his month long stay, and had been rather relieved to find that the boy he was sharing it with was also a stranger to the area- a stranger to the country, in fact. Ryou Bakura, Yuugi thought firmly, determined not to forget his name and seem rude to the polite British boy who had seemed even more nervous than he was. Ryou had arrived the previous day, and was (as he had explained in almost fluent Japanese with only a hint of an accent) on his gap year, and hoping to earn himself some money by working in one of the many seaside cafes in the town for a month or so.

He glimpsed the hotel he would be working at in the distance and couldn't stop a grin from spreading over his face; it was up on a cliff that overshadowed the main town, with perfect views of the glittering sea and sandy beaches that edged Domino City. Yuugi could see why this remote town was such a perfect holiday spot, and he had to force himself not to amble along the quay and drink in the beauty of his surroundings as many of the tourists were doing; having grown up in a city far away from the coast he had only visited the seaside a few times in his short life, and all of those were brief visits with either school or business trips with his aged Grandpa and hadn't really left that much time for sightseeing.

As he began to walk up the hill towards the hotel Yuugi was struck by how incredibly peaceful it all was. The only sound he could hear was the screeching of the seagulls, and the distant laughter from the people on the beach below, and the clear blue sky seemed to stretch endlessly out over the ocean. He smiled to himself- even if it was far from his home and even if he didn't know anyone there, Yuugi was fairly certain that he was going to enjoy his time here.

* * *

Five hours later Yuugi staggered out of the back entrance to the hotel ("Employees," the receptionist had sniffed. "Enter and leave through the back doors. You do not mix with the guests.") his mind spinning with all of the new faces and places he was trying to remember. He had been taken on a rapid tour of the building, informed that he would be helping in the restaurant for his work and then abandoned in the dining area with a broom and instructions to clean the place up for dinner.

Apparently, Hayashi Hotels weren't noted for brilliant inter-staff relationships.

But, Yuugi reasoned as he stretched and yawned, the other kitchen workers had been pretty nice. And it hadn't gone too badly, not for a first day anyway.

He leaned against the railing that separated the car park from the fairly steep decline down to the beach and stared out at the sea, feeling himself relax. It was late evening (he wasn't working night shifts, luckily for him) and stars were just winking into sight in the inky black of the twilight sky. The beach below was silent apart from the swish of the waves as the tide crept further in, and on the other side of the hotel Yuugi knew he would be able to see Domino City buzzing with nightlife.

He was just about to turn around and make his way down the road, wondering if Ryou felt up to some late night sightseeing, when something below caught his eye. Curiously, he stared down at where the waves were slapping softly against the rocks at the base off the cliff; he could have sworn he'd seen something move…

Eventually he shrugged, passing it off as his imagination, and buttoned up his coat. Pity, it would have been pretty amazing to see a dolphin or something like that- he'd never seen any wild sea creatures except on nature programmes.

Yuugi, walking away from the railing and towards the hum of night-time Domino, didn't see (and wouldn't have believed even if he had) the dark hand shoot out of the water and the glowing eyes studying his distant figure from below the surface of the ocean.

* * *

Three days later Yuugi had settled fairly well into a routine. He would work the morning shift at the hotel, return to his house to spend some time shopping, reading on the beach, or playing a few games until late afternoon, when he would return to work the early evening shift.

Yuugi was pleased with his hours because they meant not only did he have lunch time and the late evenings off, but also allowed him to get to know his roommate better. He soon found out that he and Ryou were very similar and got on with ease- something that surprised Yuugi considering they were both so shy. He had taken an immediate liking to the quiet foreign boy, and enjoyed spending most of his time off with him. Before he knew it, he and Ryou were spending almost every hour of the day (when they weren't working) together.

The one thing that Ryou didn't share, however, was his passion for the beach. Ryou had grown up on the British coastline and was only too accustomed to the sea, but Yuugi had developed a fascination for its beauty in the brief time he had spent near it. He would often leave extra early in the morning just so he could wander along the beach in the sleepy calm of dawn, just breathing in the salty air and drinking in the sights.

It was the morning of the fifth day of his visit when everything suddenly changed.

Yuugi was ambling along the sand towards the rocks at the end of the deserted beach, occasionally picking up a seashell to admire its sheen, or squinting up towards the cliff top in an effort to see if the hotel kitchens were open yet. Things that were part of his routine- normal, even mundane, activities.

It was the first morning that the sun hadn't been rising into a stunning blue sky; the weather today was bland, grey; the sun's weak rays barely managing to struggle through the layers of cloud.

Ryou's going to like this weather, Yuugi grinned to himself. Just like home for him.

A chill breeze brushed past, and for the first time in nearly a week Yuugi shivered and regretted the T shirt he had thrown on that morning. He was just about to turn back when suddenly, out of the blue, he heard a voice in the distance.

A voice coming from behind the rocks.

The rocks that, Yuugi thought in alarm, were at the end of the beach- there was nothing beyond them but the sea.

Yuugi picked up his pace and, as he drew closer to the rocks that were mainly covered with sea water- the tide had only just begun to draw out- he was able to make out the voice much more distinctly.

Instead of the plaintive cry for help that Yuugi had begun to envisage in the back of his mind- what if the person was hurt, would he need help to move them, what if it was a lost child- Yuugi slowly began to make out the words.

Yuugi was nearly halted in his tracks by the curses that were streaming from the mystery person behind the rocks. Yuugi flushed slightly at the swear words (some of which he'd never even heard of before) and slowed his walk, now fairly confident that it at least it wasn't some stranded child behind the rocks.

"Fuck, this net's a real bitch-"

Yuugi winced at the decibel level of the man's (yes, definitely a man) voice. "Excuse me?" he ventured, nervously, as he began to clamber over the rock piles. "Are you alright?"

Judging by the way the swearing didn't even falter in pitch, Yuugi assumed that the man hadn't heard him. "Hello?" he called, pulling himself right up to the top of the rock formation. "Who's there?"

Yuugi poked his head over the top of the rocks feeling slightly dishevelled and looked around in bewilderment. He couldn't see anyone lying hurt on the rocks- that was a start at least- but where on earth had the voice come from?

Oddly enough it wasn't the man's voice that alerted Yuugi to his presence, it was the sudden silence that followed his arrival onto the scene.

Yuugi glanced down almost instinctively and, much to his shock, saw the figure of a man waist deep in sea water. He seemed to be in a large rock pool- although Yuugi could see that it was more like a tiny cove, with the waves lapping against his bare chest. The man had dark, spiked hair to rival Yuugi's own, and his deep blue eyes were boring into Yuugi's face with an unreadable expression.

Trying to ignore the fact that this man's glistening torso was very tanned and very muscular and was forcing him to fight a blush, Yuugi smiled and called down: "Do you need some help?"

The man didn't say anything but glared up at him, before glancing down to his midriff and tugging frantically on (Yuugi could now just about make it out) what looked like a net that he seemed to be entangled in. Although Yuugi couldn't see clearly because the water was so murky and obscured with sea weed, he could safely assume that the man's legs must be pretty badly tangled up.

"Wait! I'm coming down to help!" Yuugi called, clambering clumsily over some rocks.

The man's gaze shot back up to his face, fear and suspicion flashing across his face. "No! Do not come any closer!"

Yuugi paused, confused. Up close he could not only hear the edge to the man's accent- a slight twinge that he couldn't place- but he could also recognise the open hostility in his tone. "Don't you want any help?" he called, uncertainly.

The man growled something and bared his teeth slightly and proceeded with his attempts to tug the net free. Yuugi was about to turn back, shocked by the man's savage expression, when there was a guttural cry from below him and Yuugi turned in time to see a few rocks become dislodged from the rough banks of the cove, only to come tumbling down and to seemingly trap one of the man's arms.

Despite the stranger's aggression Yuugi could no longer restrain himself after seeing the man's expression of agony and after spotting the trickle of blood fan out into the pool surrounding his body. "Don't move!" he shouted with more authority this time. "I'm coming down!"

The stranger could on watch helplessly as Yuugi scrambled down the rocks, only to come skidding to a halt along side his trapped arm. Ignoring the man's growls of protest, Yuugi pulled away the stones to free his arm.

Immediately the stranger jerked away from Yuugi's touch, retreating as far away as the net allowed him to move and glaring balefully at Yuugi as though he resented him for saving him.

Yuugi crouched down on the opposite side of the pool, coming to the conclusion that the stranger must be either drunk or rather ill to act in such a furious manner. "Splash some sea water on that," he said gently, gesturing to the jagged cut on the man's tanned arm. "It doesn't look too deep- I've heard sea water's good for flesh wounds…"

He trailed off as he saw the man glance dismissively at the cut before lowering his head and licking it clean, just as a wild animal would do. Yuugi was dumbfounded, and now quite worried that he'd somehow come across an escapee from a local lunatic asylum. Just my luck, he groaned mentally. It's going to be that much harder to free him now…

"Okay, stay calm," Yuugi said, softly. "I'm just going to try and release the net-"

He reached out to the corners of the net and, thanking whatever deity was listening that his Grandpa had bought him a Swiss Army knife for his sixteenth birthday, flicked open the knife and began to saw at the wire. As parts of the net fell away Yuugi occasionally stole brief glances at the stranger's expression. He had settled down somewhat; although he was still staring at Yuugi with silent suspicion, Yuugi could detect grudging curiosity in his eyes as well.

After about five minutes Yuugi had worked his way around the net, freeing the corners that were snagged on the rocks, and he stood up expectantly. "Can you move?"

The man shifted experimentally but shook his head in frustration. "It is my… legs," he forced out the word with difficulty. "They're trapped on the net- it's caught on a rock at the bottom of the pool."

Yuugi bit his lip. The water looked cold- he was very surprised that the man wasn't even shivering- and he didn't particularly want to dive into the pool to free him.

"Oh… Okay, I'm going to have to cut the net free from around your legs," Yuugi pointed out, rather nervously.

"No!" the stranger snapped, pulling away. "Just give me the knife and I will do it!"

Yuugi nearly laughed out loud at that. There was no way he was just handing his knife over to a complete stranger- a stranger that was most probably stark raving mad at that! "Don't worry, it won't take a minute-"

Yuugi shuffled along the edge of the pool until he was right next to the man. "Don't do this," the stranger warned him, baring his teeth yet again. Yuugi ignored him.

He dipped his hands into the water and tried not to flinch from the cold, fishing around until his fingers met flesh.

Except they didn't.

They met _scales_.

With growing amazement Yuugi peered into the murky depths of the pool and saw, not a pair of human legs trapped in wire netting, but two legs covered in fish scales, glimmering even in the gloomy water of the pool.

Yuugi opened his mouth to scream, or shout, or say _something_ but nothing came out. Instead he raised his eyes to the stranger's and saw his blank expression before the man jerked his arm up, snatched the knife out of Yuugi's hand and shoved him back onto the rocks.

Yuugi fell, automatically putting out his hands to break his fall, before his head connected with the rocks and everything went black.

* * *

Yuugi opened his eyes to see the clear blue sky above him- must have cleared up while he was unconscious, some vague part of his brain thought- and gingerly raised himself onto his elbows. His head hurt like hell, but at least when he pressed his palm into the back of his head his hand came away clean of blood.

That was something.

Groggily, Yuugi gazed around him; somehow he had ended up on a small sandy stretch that had been uncovered by the tide's retreat.

"I thought the sand might be more comfortable than the rocks."

The blunt, accented voice brought Yuugi crashing back into reality and he raised his eyes to where the stranger was sitting, cross legged, on the sand a few feet away. He was still holding Yuugi's knife, and he appeared to be fashioning something out of a piece of wood.

"It's driftwood," he remarked, glancing back down at the shape in his hand. "I got bored waiting for you. Damn, you humans can sleep for a long time."

Yuugi, still feeling too dazed to point out to this creature that he hadn't really been asleep at all, forced himself into a sitting position and stared at the man trying to formulate one of the questions that were buzzing around his head.

"Your… Your legs…"

The creature smirked and followed Yuugi's gaze down to the lower half of his body. They appeared to be shaped like human legs but instead of skin they were covered in green and blue fish scales, and his feet were much longer than normal, with webbed skin in between the toes. "You noticed?"

Yuugi raised a hand to his head incredulously. "How… What are you?"

The creature shrugged, returning to his woodwork. "I can't keep track of all the names you humans have come up with for my people over the years. You're an imaginative race, I'll give you that."

Still staring at the creature's legs (it was impossible, these things didn't exist!) Yuugi was suddenly reminded of a film he'd once seen when he was very young. "Mermaid!" he blurted out, before blushing at the frown on the creature's face. "Merman. Sorry."

He shrugged. "That's one of the titles, yes."

"But you haven't got a tail!" Yuugi didn't know why this was suddenly so important- he put it down to the possibility of concussion.

"And I'm sure humans don't all look the same either!" the creature snapped back, although Yuugi detected a glint in his eye which showed he was more amused than annoyed. "Evolution, racial differences, whatever you want to call it. All of us around here have- 'legs', do you call them?- yes, legs. But I do know of a colony down near the coast of Australia with tails."

"Wait… there are more of you?" Yuugi asked, forgetting his shock for a moment in curiosity. "How many? Do you have a family?"

The creature closed his mouth and Yuugi suddenly had a sinking feeling that he had crossed some sort of boundary. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry-"

"This is for you."

Yuugi blinked and saw that the creature was holding out the wood he had been carving with a blank expression. Hesitantly, Yuugi reached out and took it- trying not to gasp when his fingers brushed up against skin that was wet and clammy.

Upon inspection he saw that the piece of wood was actually some sort of amulet with words Yuugi could not understand inscribed into it: τυχη της θαλλασης. Looking up he saw the creature was rubbing his nose with a rather embarrassed look on his face.

"It's a good luck charm," he said, brusquely. "A thank you for freeing me. And to say sorry about the-" he gestured at Yuugi's head.

"I- I- Thank you," Yuugi smiled softly. He was about to ask another question when the creature stood in a fluid motion and began to walk back into the waves. "Wait!" Yuugi called, and when the creature turned he realised he had nothing to say. He finally settled with: "I'm Yuugi, by the way!"

The creature nodded and replied: "Ryouta."

Within seconds he had vanished under the water; although Yuugi strained his eyes he couldn't see the flash of his body, and the only evidence that he had ever been there at all was the rough wooden charm Yuugi clutched in his hand.

* * *

It was the next morning, after he had gotten off the phone from work apologising profusely for not showing up the previous day- he wasn't really sure they'd even noticed his absence- and Ryou, leaning against his bedroom door, clutching a cup of tea and rubbing his eyes sleepily, asked: "What's that around your neck?"

Yuugi glanced down at the simple wooden amulet and smiled; he had punched a hole through the wood and had strung it around his neck as a crude necklace. "Just something someone gave me. It's for luck."

Ryou didn't question him further, which Yuugi was relieved about. He wouldn't reveal Ryouta's secret- partly because he didn't want to betray the strange creature he had met, and partly because he wanted to keep this secret for himself.

If he didn't tell anyone, no one could take that magic away from him.

* * *

"I wasn't sure I'd see you again."

Yuugi was sitting on one of the rocks at the end of the beach with his legs pulled up to his chest. It was early, even earlier than it had been three days ago, and the high tide waves were lapping against the foot of the rock he had been balancing on for the last half an hour. He had watched the sun bleed into the sky and the gulls above begin to screech and circle the sleepy town, and had just been about to leave when a familiar figure popped his head, hair dripping around his eyes, out of the water a few feet off shore.

Yuugi smiled and tilted his head. "I couldn't really stay away."

Ryouta swam closer in so that he could lean his upper body on a rock near Yuugi's feet. "You didn't tell anyone." It was a statement, not a question.

"No," Yuugi shrugged. "How could I? They'd think I was mad. Or they'd try to catch you."

Ryouta spat into the water. "And put me in a cage so that humans could queue and laugh and gawp at me."

Yuugi frowned at the bitterness in his voice. "We're not all that bad, you know."

Ryouta propped his chin on his folded elbows and scowled. "Most of you are. Except you," he shot Yuugi another piercing look. "You didn't tell. I tested you, and you didn't tell but you still came back."

Yuugi laughed self-consciously. "Loyal and brave, huh? Does that mean I pass your test?"

Ryouta smirked. "For now."

Yuugi hugged his knees and smiled. "I should probably go- I'm going to be late for work otherwise…"

"Do you work at the human place up on the cliff?" Ryouta asked abruptly.

Yuugi glanced up and glimpsed the hotel looming on the cliff top. "The hotel? Yeah, it's my summer job. How did you know?"

Ryouta pushed himself away from the rock. "I saw you standing at the railing a couple of nights ago. You looked really… peaceful."

Yuugi ducked his head to hide his blush. "I love the sea, I suppose."

Ryouta flashed him a brief smile- Yuugi didn't care if only lasted a second, it was a real smile, the first he'd seen on the creature- and slipped back under the dark waves.

Yuugi grinned to himself and stood up, brushing his fingers over the amulet around his neck as he did so.

* * *

Yuugi had seen Ryouta almost every day since then, their mutual curiosity of each other eventually changing into something like a grudging friendship. Their morning conversations had gradually become proper talks instead of the brief, suspicious exchanges they had been at the start.

One particularly sunny morning, when Yuugi was licking at an ice cream that he'd bought from a street vendor that had opened unusually early, Ryouta actually came up out of the water and sprawled on the rocks next to him.

Yuugi offered him his ice cream; Ryouta took an experimental taste before hissing in disgust and screwing up his nose. This just caused Yuugi to laugh- they'd already had clashes about food and they'd come to the conclusion that their species' tastes were just too different. (Yuugi did try not to look too nauseous whenever Ryouta brought his breakfast of raw fish to their meetings, but he had had to refuse it when Ryouta had offered him a share in the catch).

"I think this is the first time you've willingly come to sit with me," Yuugi teased, and Ryouta stuck out his tongue in response.

"I don't like humans- you know that! You're the first one I've met who I can just about bear to be around."

Yuugi elbowed him mischievously. "And how many humans have you met?"

Ryouta had the grace to look slightly sheepish. "Not many.

"So how do you know we're all that bad?" Yuugi laughed. "Why do you hate humans so much anyway?"

In one of the abrupt mood swings Yuugi had come to expect from his friend Ryouta's smile immediately changed to a frown, and he turned away from Yuugi in a stony silence.

Yuugi's own smile wavered and he reached out hesitantly. "Ryouta? I'm sorry- I didn't mean to upset you..."

Ryouta, staring out at the sea pensively, shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"If it helps... You can tell me about whatever's bothering you?" Yuugi said, softly.

Ryouta was silent for a long moment, before sighing and speaking slowly- almost painfully. "My father... He always loved humans. He thought they were such a fascinating race- so resistant to anything this world could throw at them." He smiled for a brief second. "Even if the majority of them know next to nothing about the sea!" His grin faded, and he continued in a dark tone. "But he was around the coast one day, just trying to get me some food- I was very young at the time- and... There were humans, fishing. They must have caught him, because they... They killed him, Yuugi," Ryouta brushed a hand over his eyes impatiently. "They killed him because they were scared and they didn't know what he was and they killed my father."

Yuugi pressed a comforting hand onto Ryouta's shoulder, hoping that this would help in some small way. He felt a muted pang of satisfaction when Ryouta didn't flinch away at his touch.

"I'm sorry Ryouta."

"That's why, Yuugi. That's why I hate humans so much."

Yuugi nodded and bowed his head. "How do you know all this? Did you see it happen?"

Ryouta shook his head roughly. "No. I wasn't there- I was back at home with one of my friends. I was so young... I can barely remember his face."

Yuugi hesitated before pressing on. "But Ryouta... If you didn't see it, how do you know the humans killed him?"

Ryouta whipped his head around in anger. "Excuse me? My father is dead- there were fisherman that day with their great, big nets and their disregard for the care of the sea! We all knew what happened that day," he finished with a growl. "They got what was coming to them, though. There was a storm that day as well. Scattered their boats and tossed the sailors into the depths."

He smiled bitterly, and not for the first time Yuugi was slightly scared of his friend. "It wasn't until after the storm that I heard about my father... We found him on the rocks where the humans had thrown his body, the remains of their harpoons broken around him."

Ryouta pressed the base of his hands into his eyes as if to block out the memory, and finished in a strangled tone. "I still see him, Yuugi. I can't remember his face when he was alive, but his dead body is there whenever I close my eyes!"

Yuugi could only edge closer and lean his shoulder against Ryouta's, hoping that he would gain some comfort from the warmth, and listen as his friend tried desperately not to cry.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since that first meeting.

It was only a week until Yuugi was due to return to his home town.

Both Yuugi and Ryouta were ignoring the date- although in Yuugi's diary it seemed to loom ever darker on his horizon. The unspoken question lay like a gaping ravine between them; was he going to come back…?

It was exactly a week until that dreaded day when Yuugi and Ryou were walking in the evening light down the beach.

If Yuugi had been spending his early mornings with Ryouta, he'd been spending his lunchtimes and evenings with Ryou- his friend, whom he liked, whom he enjoyed spending time with, whom he found attractive…

So Yuugi wondered, somewhere at the back of his mind, why it felt so wrong when Ryou kissed him on the beach as the sun went down.

* * *

"Ryouta! Ryouta!"

Yuugi had been calling his name for the last ten minutes, and he was beginning to despair that his friend wasn't coming at all. He racked his brains to try and think of what he must have done to offend the boy, but he couldn't come up with anything. "Ryouta!"

"Alright, alright! I'm here," the familiar voice came as a welcome relief to Yuugi, and he twisted around to see Ryouta treading water with a moody expression on his face.

"I was worried you weren't going to come," Yuugi slumped down on the rocks with a smile.

"Well I'm here, aren't I?" Ryouta replied, folding his arms and leaning onto one of the rocks near Yuugi's feet.

Yuugi looked at him oddly. "What's wrong with you today? Have I done something to upset you?"

Ryouta ignored him for a few minutes until at last he said, sullenly, "Who was that with you on the beach last night?"

Yuugi blinked. That was not what he had been expecting. "Uh… Ryou. A friend of mine."

Ryouta snorted. "A friend? You were kissing him."

Yuugi had to refrain himself from chuckling; Ryouta had screwed up his nose in distaste on the word 'kissing' and it reminded him of the way his younger cousins looked when watching a romantic moment in a film.

"Yeah. I suppose we were," Yuugi tried not to blush.

Ryouta paused again before finally blurting out: "Why?"

"Why?" Yuugi asked, confused. "I suppose… Because we wanted to? Because we like each other? It just… happened."

Ryouta tsk-ed in irritation. "Humans."

Yuugi felt a sudden flare of anger at his friend. "What's wrong with us now? Is it wrong to kiss in that fantasy world of yours down there, huh?" he said, gesturing at the sea. "I never seem to be able to do anything right with you."

Ryouta had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sorry, okay?" he muttered eventually, avoiding Yuugi's gaze. "It's just that we do things differently."

"How so?" Yuugi asked, grudgingly curious.

"We don't kiss just because we 'want to' or to have fun," Ryouta said slowly, deliberately- as if he was thinking very hard about each word. "We only ever kiss someone that we really feel about, someone we love. It's a sign of utmost… devotion, I suppose."

Yuugi was silent for a couple of minutes. "That sounds great," he said at last, quietly. "That sounds… really, really great."

Ryouta tilted his head. "Was that how it was for you with this 'Ryou'?"

Yuugi couldn't answer that.

* * *

One day before Yuugi was due to leave he arrived at their corner of the beach earlier than he normally did.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he offered in explanation to the quizzical expression Ryouta shot him when he arrived before the sun had even fully risen.

Nothing else really needed to be said.

"I'm going to miss you," Ryouta burst out after about ten minutes of gloomy silence. Yuugi smiled sadly and Ryouta carried on talking, lifting himself out of the water so that he was crouched on the rock next to Yuugi. "I'm serious, Yuugi. You're the only human that I've ever…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence for Yuugi to understand. "I'm glad, Ryouta. I'm glad I showed you not all humans are evil."

Ryouta's smile vanished but Yuugi forced himself to continue on, the thoughts he'd been mulling over in his mind for weeks now spilling out of his mouth. "Because I've been thinking, and I wondered if maybe you were wrong and those fishermen didn't kill your father, because you said there was a storm and that you found him on the rocks, and anyway, surely they wouldn't have killed such an amazing creature- they probably would have taken photos or something like that-"

"Yuugi," Ryouta interrupted with narrowed eyes. "What are you saying?"

Yuugi took a deep breath. "I don't think the fishermen killed your father, Ryouta. I think it was that storm."

Ryouta's face immediately twisted into a furious glare. "My father knew the sea, he understood the sea, he could not have been killed by the sea!"

Yuugi leaned forward hopefully. "But don't you see? Maybe this vendetta against the humans is all in vain, you don't need to hate us all! Isn't that… isn't that a good thing?"

With a hiss Ryouta stalked to the edge of the rocks. "The sea is my home. The sea is my world, and you dare to try and take that away from me?"

Yuugi realised in horror what the implications of what he had just said really were. "Oh, Ryouta, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean, I didn't think-"

"You never think!" Ryouta spat, turning his head so that Yuugi could no longer see his blazing eyes. "None of you ever think- not of what you're doing to my home, not of the damage your nets do to our oceans, you never think of what destruction your kind are inflicting on this world that we share- you never think!"

Yuugi stood and reached out, helplessly. "Please. I'm going home tomorrow- let's not fight now…"

Ryouta stayed facing away from Yuugi, but he could still see his shoulders shaking; whether from anger or sadness he could not tell. "You go back to your world, human, and I will go back to mine. They never should have crossed in the first place."

Ignoring Yuugi's cry, Ryouta leapt back into the depths.

Yuugi waited there for so long that he lost track of time, tears drying on his face and his voice hoarse from shouting Ryouta's name. When he eventually staggered back to his apartment that evening, shivering from the cold and with his muscles aching from lack of movement, the only thing he could do was cry into Ryou's shoulder and refuse to speak of what had happened.

* * *

On Yuugi's last day in the town of Domino he woke up early- although now that was pretty much part of his routine. He had breakfast, packed up his belongings, tried to clean himself up and to ignore the fact that every time he thought about what he would be leaving behind he felt the urge to cry again.

His parting with Ryou was tearful- but Yuugi knew he would see his friend again. He may have explained to the boy that he just wasn't looking for that kind of relationship- news which had been received surprisingly well- but they had promised to remain friends, and had even settled on dates where they would come and visit each other.

With his rucksack on his back, his train ticket booked and a month's worth of wages in his pocket, Yuugi was ready to leave.

Only one thing left to do.

It felt strange walking down to his end of the beach in the mid morning, and he tried to ignore the strange looks he received; wearing a pair of jeans and carrying a large rucksack meant he didn't really fit in amongst the men and women clad in shorts and bikinis.

Luckily his particular end of the beach was deserted and so he managed to clamber over the rocks without raising too much suspicion.

"Ryouta?" he called, softly. "Ryouta?"

No reply. Sighing, he sat down on the fresh sand uncovered by the recent tide. "I came to say goodbye. Although I guess you know that."

He fingered the amulet around his neck, and peered down at the strange inscription. τυχη της θαλλασης. "You never did tell me what it meant," Yuugi continued, conversationally. "But I asked Ryou- you know, the boy you saw me… Well, never mind. He's just a friend now. Anyway, I asked him what language it was- he studies Ancient Languages, you know- and he told me it was Ancient Greek. Translated it for me and everything."

Yuugi smiled reflectively and pulled the necklace out from around his neck so that he could twist it in his hand. "Ryou said that the Ancient Greeks were among the first to really worship the Sea Gods, and to acknowledge them and all sea creatures in their myths. He even made me read a part of the Odyssey to prove his point!" He chuckled under his breath. "I suppose that's why you wrote in Greek. They were the only humans that really understood your kind. Respected your kind." He paused once more. "'The Luck of the Sea'. That's what it says."

Yuugi sighed and stretched out his legs, still fiddling with the amulet. "And I realised that it doesn't matter if the humans killed your father or not, because either way we've still treated your people so badly over the years that you have to pretend that you don't even exist anymore." He shook his head with a bitter smile. "Guess you were right about us."

"But," he said, sadly. "I'd like you to remember that we're not all like that. We're not all evil, Ryouta. Some of us would be your friends. Some of us- one of us," he corrected himself. "I. Me. I'd love you." Yuugi whispered that last part and his words were lost in the sea breezes. "When you get down to it, we're all basically the same. You just happen to have fish legs instead." Yuugi could have sworn he heard a laugh in the distance at that.

"So I'm going to leave you this," he laid the amulet gently on the sand. "To help you remember that. And me. And to bring you luck, and to protect you from… Well, from anything, really."

Yuugi stood, stretching his limbs with a grin. "That's all I've got. You'd better come and pick this up- don't want it turning into driftwood again."

He hefted his rucksack onto his back and walked back to the rocks. Before he started to climb, he turned his head and glimpsed- although it could have been his imagination- a figure gazing straight at him from the safety of the water offshore.

Yuugi smiled and pressed his fingers to his lips and then pointed them at the figure in the distance. A symbol of utmost devotion.

"I'm coming back, you know," he remarked with a laugh, before he turned away to clamber over the rocks and back into his world.

* * *

Fin

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed! :D A couple of notes that I didn't want to put at the beginning (spoilers, and all that!):

-I did quite a lot of research about Mermaids and all the mythical variations thereupon, and I'm pretty sure that in some cultures mermen had legs instead of tails. If not, then I was using creative license! xD

- On the Ancient Greek- I've studied it for the last four years, so I can say with fair confidence that the greek text in this is right! :P (I hope it shows up on ff. net formatting, it's a bit of an experiment...) Also, all that stuff about them being some of the first to worship Sea Gods (namely Poseidon, God of the Sea and father of (reportedly) all sea nymphs, and therefore all merfolk) is correct.

- I'm pretty sure the environmentalist attitude that kind of slipped in at the end is too mild to offend anyone, but if I did accidentally then I apologise. It was a case of the characters just writing themselves! :)

I hope you liked this- I liked writing it so much I'm considering a sequel! :D

In the meantime, I'd like to take a moment to remember all the victims of the terrible events in Japan over the last few weeks; although I'm probably not the only candidate to say this in this round, considering Ryouta's association with the sea. All those people suffering are in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope that the situation improves soon.

Bookworm


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